Reiki
What to Expect in a Reiki Session in Office and Remote
Sessions with Anelena Ackerly typically last from 45 to 90 minutes. The number of sessions will vary, depending on what a client wishes to accomplish. Some clients prefer to have one session, while others have a series of sessions to work on a particular issue. Medical Reiki sessions at a clinic, hospital, infusion room, etc., vary depending on need and the particular treatment administered by the client’s medical professional.
In-office sessions take place while the client lies fully clothed on a massage table. I first open sacred space and then place my hands lightly on the body at targeted positions. Sometimes I hold my hands above the body without touching the body. During the treatment, my hands typically feel warm and / or are tingling, and on a few occasions cool and tingly. I keep my hands in one position until I sense that the energy has subsided. I then remove my hands and place them on or direct them to a different body position. Remote Reiki is quite powerful and effective, and Reiki sessions can be held over Zoom. Distance Reiki does not require the client to be in view when it is not possible.
Depending on the client, I often open sessions with meditation and / or gentle breathing and movement exercises. I am also a Certified Laughter Yoga Leader, as taught by Dr. Kataria founder of Laughter Yoga International. If the client is comfortable with this, I like to include a few minutes of laughter at the beginning of a session. I do not always offer this option based on the needs of my client. Laughter Yoga alone reduces elevated heart rates and blood pressure; strengthens the immune system; is an antidote for depression; and reduces overall stress levels. For information regarding appointments and pricing, please use the Contact page provided in the menu.
In addition to private sessions, Anelena Ackerly offers on-line and in-person classes for Reiki I and II Usui / Holy Fire III® training. After receiving Level II training, there is a six-month wait before receiving Reiki Master Usui / Holy Fire III® teacher certification. Please use the Contact page provided in the menu to receive pricing and scheduling for all classes.
About Reiki
Brief History: Reiki is an ancient Japanese healing art that has been practiced for over 2,500 years. In 1922, Dr. Mikao Usui rediscovered the root system of Reiki and developed Usui Reiki Ryoho. Dr. Chujiro Hayashi, a disciple of Dr. Mikao Usui in Tokyo, Japan, became a Shihan (Teacher) in 1925 at 47 years of age. Before Dr. Usui died in 1926, he asked Dr. Hayashi to open a clinic in Tokyo and in other cities in Japan, which he accomplished.
Dr. Hayashi was instrumental in cultivating Reiki practitioners outside of Japan when he agreed to teach it to an American woman of Japanese descent when he was visiting Hawaii in 1937. Hawayo Takata, who was his host while in Hawaii, received the Shihan (Teacher) Certification in 1938 before Hayashi left Hawaii. Takata’s teachings enabled Reiki to spread around the world.
Usui’s tradition and methods were passed through several grandmasters of Reiki. Today, Reiki takes many forms; however, the Usui system of natural healing is still the form most widely practiced. My Reiki Master Lineage is through Dr. Mikao Usui.
Usui Reiki, an ancient Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation that also promotes healing, provides balance and a deep release where words are no longer adequate or necessary. Language and logic simply cannot affect all trapped energy within our physical system. Energy can stagnate in the body where there has been physical injury and emotional pain. In time, these energy blocks can cause illness if not released, preventing the healing process.
Reiki, an intelligent life force energy, goes where it is needed and follows the energetic imprint to wherever the trapped emotions have settled in one’s body. Improving the flow of energy around the body can enable relaxation, relieve pain, speed healing, and reduce other symptoms of illness. I recommend working with a therapist if the released thoughts and emotions feel overwhelming. It is important to ride the wave of emotions as they rise up in the process of being released and transmuted. Acknowledge, recognize, release, and seek the additional assistance of a therapist when necessary.
It is in those quiet moments that we can silence, dismantle, and transmute the echoes of past chaos and trauma and current day stressors. The body can only heal in those moments when the nervous system is balanced. Much can be revealed in those quiet moments, as we continue to evolve, one step at a time, and create our lives here on earth. Stepping out from behind the veil of stagnant beliefs, mind chatter, and trapped energy is life affirming and restorative. Positive transformation takes place when we release the stuck energies embedded within our cellular memory and muscle memory.
The well-known ways that we can assist the healing process include consuming a healthy nutrient rich diet; allow enough time for movement in order to stimulate blood flow and oxygenate tissues, cells, and organs; provide adequate time for the body to repair and regenerate while sleeping at least 7 hours; and allow time for meditation to quiet the mind.
We can also assist the healing process by utilizing the benefits of Reiki to balance the body’s energy field. Reiki assists in calming the nervous system allowing the sympathetic (flight or fight response) and parasympathetic (rest and digest function) nervous systems to be balanced enough that the body can heal itself.
Reiki is a non-invasive healing life force energy, and I am always excited to witness the positive results from a Reiki treatment. I also do Reiki self-care treatments every day and continue to be amazed with the results. The good news is that Reiki is for anyone who is willing to approach with an open heart and mind. Reiki should only be transmitted to another individual after receiving consent.
Reiki Grand Master Teacher, taught by Usui
Reiki Grand Master Teacher, taught by Hayashi
About Medical Reiki
Medical Reiki involves using Reiki in hospital settings or other conventional healthcare institutions in coordination with the client’s treatment plan. Doctors treat the physical body and Reiki practitioners treat the whole person who is experiencing the health challenges. Patients are not in a relaxed state when facing surgery, chemotherapy, or other intensive treatments. Reiki sessions calm the patient and accelerate the healing process by reducing the patient’s stress and anxiety, improves heart rate and blood pressure, and decrease pain levels. Reiki does not interfere with prescribed medical treatments.
A portion of the medical community is becoming increasingly receptive to Reiki. More and more doctors understand the importance of caring for the patients’ whole system and not just the physical body. Doctors are beginning to see the importance of addressing the mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being of the patient as a part of the healing process.
Reiki sessions help the patient in achieving better medical results, even when in hospice, by helping the patient find peace and release in the last stages of life. More and more patients are requesting a Reiki practitioner be present in hospice. It should also be emphasized that every patient has the right to request that a Reiki practitioner be present in both pre-op and post-op settings. Reiki in the room doesn’t just go to the patient. Doctors and nurses feel it too. It changes the energy in the room.
While all Reiki is medical Reiki, it is important to understand the value of further training in order to work within the medical community. Due to my history of working with cancer patients and in hospice, I became a Raven Keyes Medical Reiki International (RKMRI) Certified Medical Reiki Master. RKMRI Medical Reiki is a protocol in the practice of Integrative Medicine governed by Raven Keyes Medical Reiki International, LLC.
Raven Keyes website (Raven Keyes Medical Reiki International) states the following: Raven Keyes is the first and only Reiki Master to have been invited to work as a Reiki Master for many years in the operating rooms of the most prestigious surgeons in the United States, including Dr. Mehmet Oz and Dr. Sheldon Marc Feldman. She has taken her years of experience and turned them into a training program based on the Gold Standards and Best Practices she developed for Reiki Masters who wish to work in medicine.
RKMRI Medical Reiki is based on the Gold Standards and Best Practices developed by Raven Keyes for bringing the loving and healing power of Reiki to patients during surgeries or during other medical treatments, such as chemotherapy. The Gold Standards and Best Practices are the foundation of Raven Keyes Medical Reiki International, LLC, a company that:
- Provides RKMRI Certified Medical Reiki Masters (CMRMs) to patients by country, city and state.
- Trains and certifies RKMRI Certified Medical Reiki Masters (CMRMs)
Anelena Ackerly’s goal, as the owner of Whistling Winds Healing Breath, is to meet each client where they are and to assist in improving their overall well-being and the healing process by providing Reiki sessions in the most difficult of times. I have witnessed the effects of Reiki and how Reiki can change the energy in the room. It is our goal as CMRMs to turn hospital and / or hospital related settings into healing temples.
About Animal Reiki
Animal Reiki follows the same principles and practices as human Reiki, with a few adjustments, and can also be administered hands on or remotely. Animal Reiki can restore positive energy flow and correct imbalance on the physical, mental, emotional, and energetic levels for the animal. I have used Reiki for my dogs and for my friends’ pets. It is not unusual for pets to draw Reiki out of my hands while I hold or pet them. I then proceed to treat them as I have their consent. I love working with horses and am able to do so for family and friends and in my volunteer work where horses are used to assist children in the healing process. Horses are generally very receptive to Reiki.
I also transmit Reiki to the clearly receptive animals that I encounter in my yard, i.e., foxes, hawks, deer, and squirrels, and while hiking in nature. Hawks will stand several feet away looking directly at me and ducks follow me close to the shore or at the pool’s edge while they receive Reiki remotely. When they are done, they move on. Larger two and four legged wild animals I have worked with typically become still or move slowly while gazing at me, making it clear that I have their consent, as I remotely send Reiki to them. Consent is imperative with animal Reiki just as it is with human Reiki.
After receiving consent, the practitioner must consider safety issues and be cognizant of the type of changes that occur with each species. It is also of utmost importance that the practitioner carefully observes the animal’s behavior in order to be aware of the animal’s response, or lack thereof, to the treatment. It has been my experience that animal’s love Reiki; however, as with humans, there will be circumstances when an animal is not ready for the energy transfer. As always, the client’s wish is respected.